The present invention relates generally to recreational devices such as flying or throwing discs. More particularly, it concerns such a throwing disc that is usable in or near a body of fluid such as water to absorb, carry and then to radially disperse water to the delight of thrower, catcher and spectator.
Rigid flying discs that provide for throwing and catching recreation, with a flick of the thrower's wrist imparting a spin that enhances the flying disc's aerodynamics, are well known. Floppy water toys made of sponge or other fluid-absorbent material also are well known. The two have never been usefully combined to form a spinning, flying disc water toy for use in a body of water like a swimming pool, the disc providing good aerodynamic lift and yet being capable of evenly dispersing water carried thereby throughout a major portion of its flight.
The invented toy preferably is circularly disc-shaped and includes a hard body or upper external layer of closed-cell polymer foam material and an adhered soft body, or lower external layer of open-cell polymer having a relatively large defined fluid carrying capacity. The upper body is preferably fluid nonabsorbent and forms a relatively thin outer shell that extends laterally, through a smooth curve defining a peripheral region and then downwardly to provide a circularly air-confrontative airfoil providing substantial lift. The lower body preferably forms a relatively thick inner liner that extends substantially coextensively with the outer shell, and terminates in a circular edge or frusto-conical shaped radiating edge that inclines downwardly and inwardly from the terminal lower edge of the outer shell. The preferably forty-five degree (45.degree.) edge of the lower body cooperates with the smoothly rounded peripheral region of the upper body to produce a controlled, even dispersal in a pinwheel pattern of water absorbed and contained within the lower body during the spinning flight of the thrown flying disc water toy. In a preferred embodiment, the disc has a substantially uniform thickness over its entire extent, with the upper body itself preferably being a laminate of an outer ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) foam layer and an inner cross-linked polyethylene foam layer, and with the lower body preferably being a polyurethane foam layer.
The disc is provided with a concave upper surface and corresponding convex lower surface which act in cooperation with the smoothly curved peripheral region to provide an easily grippable surface. This surface better conforms to the shape of the hand in order to make the disc easier to throw and catch. Additionally, the use of soft foam materials for the toy decreases the danger of injury to persons or damage to property.
An appreciable advantage of the invention is the ability of the toy to maintain extended and stable flight while fully saturated with fluid. It has been found that a flying disc made solely of spongy absorbent material exhibits unstable flight characteristics due in part to deformations in the soft airfoil surface. Such all wet water toys are ideas which just do not fly. The addition of a substantially rigid support layer has been found to increase the rigidity of the airfoil and thereby improve the toy's stability while in flight. Though preferably placed over the top of the absorbent material, the rigid support layer may also be bonded underneath or even interior of the absorbent material.
A further advantage of the present invention is the even dispersal of water throughout the flight of the disc due to water flow control mechanisms engineered into the toy. The rate of fluid dispersal from the toy is regulated by three main factors: the absorption characteristics of the absorbing layer, the curvature of the impermeable laminate layer, and the rate of rotation of the disc. If the rate of water dispersal were unregulated, the water would simply splash out uncontrolled during the first rotation or flick of the wrist.
In the preferred embodiment, the capillary action of the open-cell polymer acts to absorb the fluid. The use of a denser open-cell foam exhibiting greater capillary fores will serve to increase water retention within the toy resulting in reduced fluid dispersion during each throw but increasing the number of times the toy may be thrown before reabsorption. The curvature of the downwardly depending impermeable periphery of the laminate acts as a centripetal force, governing the action that the centrifugal forces have on the absorbed fluid within a spinning disc. It is thought that a shallower curvature will make it easier for fluid collected within the peripheral edges of the absorbent layer to be released and radiated outwardly. Finally, the rate of spin imparted to the disc will effect the centrifugal forces acting upon the absorbed fluid such that a thrower who is able to toss the toy with a greater rate of rotation will be able to increase the amount of water being dispersed from the toy. Thus, the dispersion characteristics of the flying water toy may be varied both by manufacturers in their choice of fluid absorbing materials and laminate shape and by the skill of the thrower in providing rotation to the disc.
These and additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood after a consideration of the drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.